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Comment by cxx | Hacker News Reader

Apollo's shutdown was a blessing in disguise, I was addicted to Reddit and wasted hours on it before going to sleep. Thanks to that event I no longer browse or even feel the need to see what's going on, it's like quitting smoking, I literally feel better and relieved that I quit. I don't think I would've been able to stop on my own either, Apollo made it too easy.

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i feel this way about twitter since logged out users can't browse tweets anymore. now i can give myself just a tiny bit of friction to break the habit. i still waste time on my phone, but at least it's not quite so effortless now

I feel the same way. I left Reddit altogether in the protest and haven't come back. Suddenly I have hours of time back every week.

Now I’m addicted to TT :dead:

tiktok made tv shows and movies unwatchable for me haha. that kind of media is just too slow. only sports at this point. I would say I watch 45m/day of tiktok. 5m here and there.

this comment cant be real

Not OP and not on TT, but some of my family have told me they have the same issue with movies and TV now.

I assume it's dopamine addiction playing out in the extreme.

I don’t know. I think the writing has gotten bad. I like thrillers and dramas. The old good stuff Ive already watched at this point. It’s nice when I run across something good I havent seen. The new stuff I can just predict what’s going to happen in a way I wish they’d just get to the point. Maybe I dont know whats going to happen but all the dead end loops are just excruciating. I watch some pretty boring sports like F1, motogo, and baseball so even though they go slow and require patience at least there’s some storyline thats not predictable. With tiktok they get to their hook or point within a minute or three so even if I know it’s something stupid I know the point is coming soon or I can just fast forward next. Mine is also curated towards my hobbies so it gives me ideas about what to do next or how I can improve.

I've recently taken a trip into "Weird Fiction", which is scratching my itch for more variety in fantasy.

I'm also finding that just "getting old" means the more books I read, shows I've seen, etc, the more I find myself saying "oh I've seen this kind of thing before". True, non-dopamine-based novelty is harder and harder to come by.

I think they're separate problems, though I'm going to make a huge leap and say that I think the writing problem is actually in part a function of the dopamine problem. Writers are both influenced more by "short media", and required to cater for audiences who enjoy/are addicted to it, even if the product is long-form.

I know quite a significant number of people that said the same thing. But it's not that they can't watch movies in itself: they can't _sit_ through an entire movie so what they do now now is watch those movies on TT, one short clip at a time, spread over a few days.

I’m not at that point. But have been able to create a curated feed of X content. Sort of how certain channels or networks are organized in cable/OTA

So tiktok causes ADD and we’re ok with kids using it? Sounds like it needs to be used less by adults too.

That's not what ADD is.

yes it is. and when you grow up with short form videos being your form of entertainment you’re just teaching kids to have short attention spans.

No, it isn't. ADD (now classified as Inattentive type ADHD) isn't having a "short attention span", it's a huge swathe of neurological symptoms of which having a short attention span might be one, sometimes - but it isn't the defining characteristic. The name of the disorder is misleading. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, like schizophrenia and autism, and isn't something that can be induced through forms of entertainment (though those predisposed to the disorder genetically may find symptoms worsen through them).

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